Today I learned to ride a scooter (or hipstercycle, as I'm considering renaming it). I did the pre-learner course you have to take out our way before they'll give you a learner's license (all scooters need motorcycle licenses if you want to ride on the road in Australia). I had the best time, but I'm completely exhausted, which is why I came up with this and thought posting it was a good idea.

Two Reasons Goths Should Ride Scooters:
1. Mine came with a suicide kickstand. The guy said it and I kind of went "What?!", and secretly thought it was awesome because I'm a lamer.
2. It has a killswitch. I was also kind of excited about this. I mean, my journal title hasn't changed since a billion years ago...

Bonus points - get a metal fan on board and make jokes about Killswitch Engage.


And to make this post even vaguely interesting, have an oekaki I did a million years ago. It's been sitting on my desktop staring at me and I don't know why I've never moved it. I hope I haven't posted this before and just forgotten. Hiiiii.

Tags: art

Okay, I've never done this before, so it's kind of for my own records/inspiration/amusement/pretentiousness, but it should be fun anyway.

I present here Arabel's Weird Highlights Of The S/S 2010 Fashion Season Thingamabob.

Which could probably more accurately be rendered as 'totally random stuff I though was cool or crazy or fun, which kind of probably has little editorial value so nobody go quoting me anywhere or anything'. I repeat, MOST OF THIS IS NOT WEARABLE.

Also, please feel free to make fun of whatever you want, or link to weird things to make fun of. Fashion is inherently funny, I think, even when it's amazing. Fine line...


( FASHUN UNDER HERE )

Current Mood: blah

yeah bears* is died and I witnessed it. That sign up there was my souvenir of their last gig, and now I can no longer say my friends are in bands, because they broke this one. Also I seriously thought my days of jumping on top of a stacks on were totally over, but I guess never say never.

Notable quotes:

me: "I got hit by the mosh and I went flying"
ben: looks horrified and claps hands over mouth. "Are you okay? Sorry! I'm so sorry."
me: "It's okay, I came to your gig expecting to get hit by something."
ben: "But you're not used to getting hit by things!"

Also everyone should go look at ben's art, it's great and I'm jealous of it.


*note - they're kind of thrashcore and so you will only like them if you like a lot of high-pitched screaming and guitars. Like, a lot. Not really my scene, but I love my friends and their band was pretty epic fun.

Tags: pictures
Current Music: ringing of ears

So I've been meaning to write more about work, because I used to write so much about it, but not so much of late - I guess I got worried this thing started to overflow with random fashion shenanigans, and I didn't know how interested y'all were in that...?

But I love that today, my art director in all seriousness said, "You can't do that. It would butcher the aesthetic integrity of the piece."

It was beautiful. Serious love.

On the bad side, I really have had almost supernatural bad luck with weather - my photo shoot got dust stormed into oblivion. Then because there's still so much of South Australia spread all over the place, today when we re-shot in the park, I ended up covered in dust up to my knees. But to make up for it, yesterday we had a male model casting, and the fashion girls brought back beautiful gourmet macaroons from their photo shoot. It's kind of a world of extremes... and I'm proud of myself for avoiding Blue Steel jokes, dammit.

Speaking of extremes, I blame aceles for this. She's been doing a series of totally hilarious badfic podcasts called Baby-Punchingly Bad and...

...when she mentioned Preppy Voldemort in high-heels, um...



Yeah. Uh. Sorry guys.

Tags: art

saint_sorrows moved house, and I made her a moving house present, because she is radsauce. Also an 'I love your stories' present... it's of Frank, from her House of Wolves series. Call it a happy Frank. I haven't managed to draw unhappy Frank yet. It's a companion to King Gerard.





Also lol wip, sorry you suddenly got really short in that last one, Frank. Also thank-you Mimi for listening to me whinge about blood drops!

I have to draw some colour stuff soon or my head will probably explode.

In other news, I have a shoot tomorrow and the forecast promises gale force winds. If you see a shoot where everyone's hair is at 90゜to their faces, that was probably me. ALSO Tachikoma and I are completely hooked on True Blood, and now working our way through the second series (we're up to um, episode 4?). I love it so hard. Y'all.

SOOKIE

Tags: art

When I was visiting someone in hospital, I found this poster in the elevator.

Just thought y'all should know. Since it affects you.




It just kind of cracked me up - creepiest public announcement flier I've ever seen, honestly, someone went to town on this.

For those wondering, yes, it's an actual issue to do with the Government subsidising blood donations to private hospitals. But still...for a minute I was like, "Wait, the True Blood viral campaign made it in here too?!"

Tags: pictures

Okay, so along with everyone else in the world, I heard about all the MTV awards shenanigans. And apart from Kanye West being the biggest douchebag puppy-kicker in the world at that point in time, it got me thinking...

Really? That's the BEST we can do as far as music videos go?! Either of them?

So then I started thinking about my favourite clips of all time, and I want to know what everyone else's are too. I always forget all the best ones, so my list will probably be a bit lame, so...

BRING FORTH THE BEST MUSIC VIDEOS OF ALL TIME, OR AT LEAST OF YOUR PERSONAL TEENAGE YEARS!

Mine (not all my favourite bands, just clips I like):
Beastie Boys, 'Sabotage'. Well, duh, I guess.

Johnny Cash, 'Hurt'
I think I actually cried once watching this (I AM THAT LAME) - it absolutely breaks my heart. Now to be fair, this clip is brilliant and perfect for the song, but most of the meaning is really in the performance, so maybe I'm cheating here... but basically, Trent Reznor should just give up this song, he got his arse kicked.

Basement Jaxx, 'Where's Your Head At' - Creeeeeeeepy. I will look at neither monkeys nor repetitive but catchy electro groups in the same way again.

And lastly, R.E.M., 'Imitation of Life'. I've watched this so many times and it's still interesting - apparently it's the same 20 seconds of footage back and forwards and in and out... crazy. Plus, bonus Michael Stipe dancing!

Okay, finished - I was going to try colouring her, but I started and it didn't seem right.

For stayhomesandy, in an art trade for the lovely lovely adorable pics in my last post. It's a drawing of her character, who I thought was rather spiffing, who you can see here. Cute, right? Anyway, here she is...



Also, here is a kind of bigger version. Also also here is a terrible sketch that I think was kind of inspired by your girl. Because you know, floating skulls and all... so it's kind of two pics except one of them is totally half-assed. \o/

That was really fun.


Many thanks to speep, saint_sorrows, you are both so awesome at listening to me go "hmm, maybe I should change this and this and this and this and this...". Also tachi shut up it's just a baby crow or something... you are also awesome.

Tags: art
Current Mood: happy

SOMEONE DID ART FOR ME!

The utterly super stayhomesandy and I are doing an art trade, and I asked for a pic of a girl with a kitty, and she did these two pics which are basically just like MAINLINING CUTE.




This is very very utterly awesome, and probably one of the most adorable things I have ever received. Plus two pics, you went completely above and beyond. <3 When I got the pics I immediately showed pretty much everyone in my office. Everyone. Seriously. Sorry. I LOVE THEM, THANK-YOU SO MUCH! ;_;

ps: I am so so sorry I didn't post this earlier, I hope it didn't worry you! I just wanted to be able to say I'd started your piece in return, but unfortunately I got tackled to the ground by life, and didn't get started as soon as I wanted. I'm so so so so sorry, I really adore them and I've been dying to spaz out about them here. :3

Also now I have started your piece in return, huzzah!

Also also, I'm thinking of maybe getting a scooter, because we won't have our car here forever... What do people think? Talk me into and/or out of it?

HAY GUYS I'M BACK. I MISSED YOU ALL.

How lame is it that tachi and I didn't feel like we were "home" until we had all our nerd stuff set up? I kind of felt like I was camping at someone else's house. So now even though we don't have most basic household supplies, we're as excited as stupid little kittens because we have the internet.

Yay for nerds.

Anyway, hi. Did I miss anything?